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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1921, No. 26 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY 



OF 



ELIZABETH CITY 
NORTH CAROLINA 



Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations 



A DIGEST OF THE REPORT OF A SURVEY OF THE 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C..MADE 
AT THE REQUEST OF THE BOARD OF SCHOOL 
TRUSTEES, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE 
UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 



JMofl^raph 



v^ 



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CONTENTS. 

Page. 

I. Introductory 5 

Members of the commission 5 

From Bureau of Education 5 

From the outside 5 

The field work • 5 

II. A building program 6 

Number of children of school age 6 

School congestion: 7 

1 . White schools 7 

2. Negro schools 8 

Lack of modern school facilities 10 

Changed social and industrial conditions demand changes in the 

schools 10 

A comprehensive building program needed 11 

The work-study-play plan of organization 12 

A building program on the basis of the work-study-play plan 13 

Plan 1 13 

Plan II 14 

III . Organization and administration 15 

Apathy of the board of aldermen 15 

Interest of the board of education in school affairs 16 

Powers and duties of the school board 18 

The superintendent's report 20 

Teachers' salaries 22 

Formal examinations 24 

Cost of maintaining the schools 24 

IV. School census and enrollment.. -. . . . 26 

Age-grade distribution 27 

Per cent of distribution by grades. 30 

Holding power of the schools 31 

The schools carry an unnecessary load. 32 

V. The elementary schools .''.'' 33 

The curriculum situation 33 

Equipment problem 35 

Organization problem 36 

The supervision problem 37 

The instruction problem 38 

KiDdergartens 39 

VI. The high school 39 

VII . Home economics 41 

VIII . Manual training 42 

3 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, 
NORTH CAROLINA. 



I. INTRODUCTORY. 

On July 20, 1920, the board of school trustees invited the Com- 
missioner of Education to undertake a survey of the schools of 
Elizabeth City, with the understanding that the cost would not 
exceed $1, 500, and that the cost of the survey would be underwritten 
by the Elizabeth City Chamber of Commerce. 

MEMBERS OF THE SURVEY COMMISSION. 

The members of the commission appointed by the commissioner 
to make the survey, and to report to him their findings and recom- 
mendations, are as follows : 

FROM THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

Dr. William T. Bawden, Assistant to the Commissioner, director of the survey. 
Mrs. Alice Barrows Fernandez, Specialist in Industrial and Economic Relations in 
Education. 
Mr. Walter S. Deffenbaugh, Specialist in Education in Villages and Towns. 
Mrs. Henrietta W. Calvin, Specialist in Home Economics. 
Miss Julia Wade Abbot, Specialist in Kindergarten Education. 

FROM OUTSIDE THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

Dr. Charles G. Maphie, Professor of Education, University of Virginia, Charlottes- 
ville, Va. 

Dr. Thomas Alexander, Professor of Elementary Education, Peabody College for 
Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. 

THE FIELD WORK. 

On July 24-25 Commissioner Claxton and two members of the com- 
mission made a study of the buildings and gathered data upon which 
the recommendations concerning the building program were based. 
This part of the report was submitted to the board July 30, 1920. 
The remainder of the field work was done during the month of 
November, and included an aggregate of about 70 days. 

On Friday evening, January 7, 1921, the director of the survey 
presented an outline of the report, and discussed the conclusions 
and recommendations with the board in Elizabeth City. As rapidly 
as the work could be completed, the full text of the report was fur- 
nished to the board in manuscript, the last chapters being mailed on 
July 7, 1921. 



6 



EDUCATIONAL SUKVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

II. A BUILDING PROGRAM. 



The schools of Elizabeth City are badly congested. It is important 
that the city undertake a building program which will not only 
relieve present congestion but also provide for increase in enrollment 
over a period of years. In order to do this it is necessary to deter- 
mine (1) how many children there are of school age in the city; (2) 
what is the present number of children enrolled in school and what 
is the present school congestion — that is, how many children are 
without adequate seating accommodations; (3) what has been the 
rate of increase in the school population over a period of years; and 
(4) the appropriation that will be necessary in order to give children 
not only seating accommodations but modern school facilities. 

NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF SCHOOL AGE. 

According to the school census, there were 2,997 children between 
the ages of 6 and 21 in Elizabeth City in 1919-20. Eliminating those 
between the ages of 18 and 20, there were apparently 2,789 children 
of school age in the city. Of this number, 1,641 were white children 
and 1,148 were negro (see Table 1). 

But although there were 2,789 children of school age, only 2,202 
were enrolled in the public schools. Of these, 1,425 were white and 
777 were negro. In other words, there were 216 white children of 
school age who were not in public school and 371 negro children who 
were not in public school; that is, 21 per cent of all children of school 
age were not enrolled in public school (see Table 2) . 

Table 1.— Children of school census age; enrollment; average attendance, 1919-20. 





White. 


Colored. 


Total 
white 


Children of school census age. 


Male. 


Fe- 
male. 


Total. 


Male. 


Fe- 
male. 


Total. 


and 
col- 
ored. 


Children 6 to 7 vears old, inclusive 


134 

368 

278 

63 


145 

403 

313 

62 


779 
771 
591 
125 


107 

269 

149 

32 


100 
325 

198 
51 


207 

594 

347 

83 


486 


Children 8 to 13 years old, inclusive 


1,365 


Children 14 to 17 years old, inclusive 


938 




208 


Total census 6 to 21 


843 


923 


1,766 


557 


674 


1, 231 


2,997 






Enrollment of children 6 to 21 


668 
393 
538 
350 


757 
429 
634 
380 


1,425 
822 

1,132 
730 


353 
225 
215 
150 


424 
273 
249 
222 


777 
498 
464 
272 


2,202 


Enrollment of children 8 to 13, inclusive 

Average daily attendance, 6 to 21 


1,320 
1,637 


Average daily attendance, 8 to 13, inclusive. . 


1,002 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, K". C. 7 

Table 2. — Enrollment in 1914-15 and 1919-20 in public schools, Elizabeth City, N. C; 
classrooms; special facilities; teaching force. 





'© 

> 

*co 

1 

CO 

© 

c3 


Net enroll- 
ment. 


4. 

i-H 

02 
I-t 

o 
So 

22 

o © 

.35* 

g 

o 

© 

ft 


co 

CO 

"« 

&3 

© C3 

S- > 

C3 

B 
© o 

a 


3 © 

&a 

©,3 

S ® 
2^ 
£ fl 

co © 

CO CO 

e3 © 
«ft 

— < — 

C3 O 

■4-3 V-l 

O 

cr 1 


Excess of classrooms re- 
quired over those avail- 
able. 


& 

ft 

3 ©' 

a* 

p 


g 

o 
o 

(-, 

a 

M 
O 
O 

o 


a 

o 
o 

© 
© 

el 
_© 

'o 


el 

ft 

CO 

© 
« 
•<< 


CO 

(1 
© 

o 

© 

t-c 

c3 

1 
© 
hi 

U 
© 

a 

n 


CO 

ft 

'© 

.3 
%-> 

r— i 




Names of school. 


1-1 

I-* 
a 

(—1 


© 

1 

Oi 

1-1 

s 

a 
i— i 


© 
© 
hi 

a 

to 

ei 

(3 
© 

O 

EH 


White: 


1-3 

( 4-7 

\8-ll 

4-11 


519 

473 
148 
621 


607 

564 
254 
818 


16.9 

19.2 
71.6 
31 7 


13 


16 


3 








}2i 


fl3 
113 

9 
35 


1 
1 

1 

3 




High school 
















l 


1 


1 




Total for grades 


16 


21 


5 


38 














Total for white 
schools 


1-11 


1,140 


1,425 


25.0 


29 


37 


8 


l 


1 


1 


2* 
















Negro: 

Cale Street 


1,2 

2-5 

1 





224 
198 
173 














31 
4 
1 


1 




Shannon Street 
















Sawyer Town 














1 








i 










Total 






595 




| 




1 


1 


8 


2 








' . 














Normal school 


1-8 


1 182 














43 


5 


3 48 


















Grand total (includ- 
ing children in • 
normal school) 






2,202 














































i 



1 One domestic science teacher for white schools. 

2 All principals teach classes. 

3 Tn addition to this number 5 white teachers and 1 colored teacher have been engaged for next year, 
1920-21. 

Obviously, any adequate building program must provide for these 
children whom the public school is under obligation to care for, and 
who would be far more likely to attend if the school accommodations 
were adequate and modern. On the other hand, if they do not enter 
school even when new buildings are provided, then the building pro- 
gram proposed will provide for an increase in enrollment over more 
than five years. 

SCHOOL CONGESTION. 



1. WHITE SCHOOLS. 

In 1919-20 there were 1,425 white children enrolled in school, or 
37 classes. There are two white school buildings — the Primary, 
which houses grades from 1 to 3, inclusive, and the High School, 
which houses grades from 4 to 7, inclusive, and 8 to 11, inclusive. 
In the primary school there are 16 classes but only 13 regular class- 
rooms. In the high school there are 16 regular classrooms and 21 
classes. In other words, in these two buildings there are eight more 
classes than there are classrooms available. 

The rate of increase has been about one and one-half classes per 
year for the last Rve years. For example/ in 1914-15 there were 



8 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, 1ST. C. 

1,140 children enrolled, while in 1919-20 there were 1,425, or an 
increase of 285 children, approximately eight classes. 

The school authorities have made every effort to meet the increasing 
congestion, but they have had an almost impossible task. They have 
been compelled to use basement rooms which never should have been 
used as classrooms; corners of the auditorium have been partitioned 
off to make room for classes; and it is understood that even the 
auditorium stage has been pressed into service as a classroom. 

But the situation is worse than these facts would indicate, for 
although there are 13 rooms in the primary school, they can not be 
included in the building plans, since they are really not fit for school 
purposes. The inadequate lighting alone should prohibit their use. 
In fact, if the parents of the children realized that permitting their 
children to study in the badly lighted, overcrowded rooms of the 
primary school was a menace to the eyesight and health of the chil- 
dren, there is no question but that they would insist that the school 
be abandoned and adequate appropriations made for school accom- 
modation. 

To sum up the situation in the white schools, there are 36 classes 
of children and only 16 available classrooms (when the primary 
school is eliminated), i. e., there are 20 classes without adequate 
seating accommodations. Moreover, an increase of between seven 
and eight classes, about 280 children, over the next five years must 
be provided for. Furthermore, the 216 children of school age not 
now in school should be provided for. In other words, taking the 
children now enrolled, 1,425, those of school age out of school, 216, 
and the anticipated increase during the next five years, 280, it will 
be necessary for Elizabeth City to so plan its building program that 
48 classes of children — 1,921 children — may be provided for in the 
coming bond issue. If this is done, not only will present congestion 
be relieved but adequate provision made for a period of £.ve years. 

2. NEGRO SCHOOLS. 

According to the statistical report of the superintendent of schools 
for 1914-15 there were 585 children enrolled in the Negro schools in 
the first five grades. (See Table 3.) In 1919-20 there were 777 
children enrolled in seven grades, and of this number 595 were in the 
three public schools, while the remainder were in the Negro normal 
school, which takes children in the practice school department from 
grade 1 through 8. (See Table 4.) The increase in the public and 
normal schools of children in grades 1 to 8 was 192 in five years, or 
at the rate of about one class a year. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



9 



Table 3. — Enrollment by grades and races in the year 1914-15. 



Enrollment. 



White. 



Num- 
ber. 



Aver- 
age 



Boys 
en- 
rolled. 



Colored. 



Num- 
ber. 



Aver- 
age 
age. 



Boys 
en- 
rolled. 



First grade 

Second grade 

Third grade 

Fourth grade 

Fifth grade 

Sixth grade 

Seventh grade 

Eighth grade 

Ninth grade 

Tenth grade 

Eleventh grade 

Total 

Number completing course 



224 

159 

136 

144 

155 

104 

70 

75 

35 

26 

12 



10 
11 
12 
14 
15 
15 
16 
17 
17 



114 
87 
60 
74 
63 
47 
24 
38 
11 
10 
3 



352 
92 

100 
30 
11 



1,140 
12 



531 
3 



585 
10 



147 
50 
32 

.10 

5 



244 
4 



Table 4.— Enrollment by grades and races in the year 1919-20. 1 



Enrollment. 



White. 



Num- 
ber. 



Boys 
en- 
rolled. 



Colored. 



Num- 
ber. 



Boys 
en- 
rolled. 



First grade 244 

Second grade 192 

Third grade 171 

Fourth grade 165 

Fifth grade 168 

Sixth grade 122 

Seventh grade 109 

Eighth grade 103 

Ninth grade 64 

Tenth grade 59 

Eleventh grade \ 28 



Total j 1,425 

Number completmg course ! 21 



127- 
100 
84 
81 
75 
57 
48 
40 
30 
20 
6 



393 
107 
125 
59 
39 
35 
19 



198 
51 
60 
17 
16 
14 
4 



668 



777 



360 



1 From statistical report of city superintendent, Elizabeth City, N. C 

There is not only bad congestion in the Negro schools, but the 
buildings themselves are unfit for school purposes. In 1919-20, in 
grades 1 to 5, inclusive, were 595 Negro children attending school in 
three wooden frame structures. In Sawyer town school 173 children 
go to school in two rooms. One room has 27 double benches and 
the other has 23. The benches are old and scarred. In one room 
54 children attend in the morning and in another 54 in afternoon. 
The building is nothing but a frame structure in such bad repair that 
pasteboard is tacked over a portion of a window where the pane has 
been broken. In Gale School there are 224 children in four rooms. 
In one room there are 31 double benches; in another, 30; in another, 
29; and in the fourth, 22. In Shannon Street school there are 193 
children. One room has 17 double seats, another 20, another 24^, 
another 23, and there is also a chapel, which is one long room with 
61929—21 2 



10 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

a platform. All these buildings should be abandoned, for they are 
not fit for school use. 

LACK OF MODERN SCHOOL FACILITIES. 

But there is not only great congestion in both the white and Negro 
schools, but also there are almost none of the modern school facilities, 
such as auditoriums, gymnasium, shops, laboratories, drawing and 
music rooms — facilities which are now recognized as essential in any 
modern school system and which it is necessary to include in an 
adequate building program. There are in the white schools one 
auditorium, no gymnasium, no shops, one cooking room, and one 
laboratory with very little equipment, no drawing room, no music 
room, and no library. 

CHANGED SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS DEMAND CHANGES 

IN THE SCHOOLS. 

It is often difficult for men and women who were brought up in 
the country a generation ago to realize the necessity of providing 
these facilities for children living in cities. In the olden days it made 
little difference that the school buildings consisted only of classrooms 
for studying the three R's. In those days the children had plenty 
of opportunity for wholesome work and play, which, educationally, 
were just as important for them as study. There is such a common 
tendency to identify " schools" and " education" that it is important 
to emphasize the fact that education has always consisted of work 
and study and play, and that children must not be deprived of any 
of these three elements in their education if they are to grow in 
health and strength and develop initiative, intelligence, and the 
ability to think for themselves. 

Fifty years ago the environment of the average boy and girl fur- 
nished an education in wholesome activities that developed intel- 
ligence, initiative, and industrious habits. But during the past half 
century has come the growth of the modern city, until now half the 
population of the country is concentrated in cities, and the city with 
its overcrowding, its mills and factories, and office buildings, which 
gradually go up on the vacant lots, is depriving children of the 
opportunity for the healthy, wholesome work and play which are 
essential elements in their education. The city home, whether in a 
large or small city, is very unlike the farm with its many necessities 
for "learning by doing." It offers few educational opportunities in 
the way of healthful work which develops the ability to think by 
attacking problems to be solved. There is no planting or harvesting 
to be done; few if any animals to be taken care of; and it is a rare 
city home that has a workshop or laboratory. Yet children until 
recently have received much of their education through the oppor- 
tunity to handle tools, to take care of animals, and to experiment 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 11 

in making and using things. But the city not only fails to educate 
children in the right direction; it educates them in the wrong direc- 
tion, for the street, with its dangers to the physical and moral life 
of the children, too often becomes their only playground. And street 
play means education not in health and strength and wholesome 
living but precocious education in all the vicious side of a city's life. 
For these reasons it has come to be recognized that the city school 
must not only supply the opportunity for study in good classrooms 
under wholesome conditions, but it must also return to the children 
the opportunity for the helpful work and play which the home can 
no longer supply. It must provide playgrounds and shops and 
laboratories and drawing and music rooms, as well as classrooms, 
where they may be kept wholesomely bus}^ all day. For Elizabeth 
City to plan a building program on the basis of providing merely 
classrooms for her school population and to ignore her obligation to 
furnish such modern facilities as shops, laboratories, and nature- 
study rooms would be to fail in her duty to the rising generation and 
to the best interests of the city. It is said that America is the land 
of equal opportunity in education. This, however, does not mean 
opportunity for uniform education, but opportunity for the develop- 
ment of the varied gifts of many individuals. Democratic educa- 
tion means variety of opportunity in accordance with the needs of 
the individual. If Elizabeth City does not give this variety of oppor- 
tunity in work and study and play to the children of all its people, 
then it is failing to tap the reservoirs of power for its coming citizen- 
ship. Moreover, it is laying up trouble for itself in the future, for 
nothing is more serious for any community than to have the rising 
generation feel balked in their power of self-expression and attain- 
ment. 

A COMPREHENSIVE BUILDING PROGRAM NEEDED. 

It is obvious from the foregoing that Elizabeth City needs a building 
program which will relieve present congestion, provide for an increase 
in enrollment for at least five years, and at the same time provide the 
modern educational facilities, such as auditoriums, playgrounds, 
shops, and laboratories. To do this will involve considerable ex- 
penditure and careful planning. There are two chief methods of 
meeting the situation. 

The first method would attempt to solve the situation by the usual 
procedure of adding classrooms without changing the traditional 
school organization. All children would be expected to be in school 
seats at the same time, and if provision were made for special activi- 
ties, such as shops or cooking rooms, the classrooms would remain 
vacant when such facilities were in use. If such special facilities were 
provided, therefore, they would have to be in addition to a classroom 
for every class. 



12 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

Let us consider the cost of meeting school congestion and growth — 
in the white schools, for example — on the basis of the traditional type 
of school organization. 

As has been pointed out, it will be necessary, in order to take care 
of present enrollment and provide for growth in the white schools to 
make provision for 48 classes. The primary school should be aban- 
doned. That leaves only the high school, with 16 regular classrooms; 
therefore it would be necessary to erect a building with 32 classrooms 
in order to provide for the 48 classes. The cost of a classroom unit 
at the present time is $16,000. This includes the cost of auditorium 
and gymnasium. A 32-classroom building would therefore cost 
$512,000. This amount, however, would not furnish any of the 
modern school facilities, such as shops and laboratories. Therefore 
to provide these facilities would mean an additional expense. 

Elizabeth City is not peculiar in respect to her school congestion 
situation. Cities all over the county, even before the war, were 
having the greatest difficulty in meeting the increase in school en- 
rollment. The rapid growth of population makes the congestion and 
financial problems extremely difficult of solution on the traditional 
plan of a reserved seat for every child. To keep pace with growth, 
therefore, merely on the basis of adding classrooms where they are 
needed at a given time, presents both administrative and financial 
difficulties. But when to this problem is added the obligation to 
provide the other necessary facilities, such as shops and laboratories, 
the problem assumes formidable proportions. 

Indeed, were this plan the only alternative, the situation which the 
board of school trustees is now facing would be a discouraging one. 
Fortunately, however, there is another way out of the difficulty. 

THE WORK-STUDY-PLAY PLAN OF ORGANIZATION. 

A second possible method of solving the building problem of Eliza- 
beth City is what is commonly known as the " work-study-play plan," 
now in operation in some 30 or 40 cities in the country. This plan 
developed in an attempt to solve the peculiar problem created by a 
modern city. It grew out of recognition of the fact that the growth 
of cities makes the educational problem far more difficult than 
formerly; in fact, has created a new school problem. The plan 
represents an attempt to meet these new conditions and to make it 
practicable both administratively and financially for school adminis- 
trators to provide not only classroom accommodations, but also 
modern educational facilities, such as gymnasiums, shops, and labora- 
tories, that children may be kept wholesomely occupied in study and 
work and play. 1 

1 For a statement of the plan and its method of operation, see Bui. 1920, No. 22, pp. 14 ff. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, H". C. 13 

Let us consider how this plan can be applied to conditions in 
Elizabeth City. 

A BUILDING PROGRAM ON THE BASIS OF THE WORK-STUDY-PLAY 

PLAN. 

PLAN I. 

1. White schools. — There are now 1,425 children, 36 classes, in the 
two white schools. This makes just about enough children for one 
fair-sized school. All these children should be housed in one school 
plant, to be located on the present high-school site. The building 
could be erected in the form of an H , the present high-school building 
forming one section, and another building erected to the rear of the 
present high school forming the other section, with an auditorium 
between the two. 

^s has been pointed out, the building would have to be planned to 
take care of a 48-class school in order to provide for a growth over a 
period of five years. There are, however, at the present time in 
the high-school building 16 regular classrooms, 4 rooms in the base- 
ment, an auditorium on the second floor, and 4 attic rooms. 

Under the work-study-play plan, a school of 48 classes would re- 
quire only 24 classrooms, or 8 more than are now available in the high- 
school building. Another building should therefore be erected to the 
rear of the high-school building. To do this the lot on which the 
present building stands should be squared, the houses to the rear of 
the high-school building removed, and a new building of 12 units 
erected, with an auditorium between this building and the existing 
high school. Twenty-four of the best rooms in the two buildings 
should be used as classrooms. That would leave 4 units, 2 of which 
can be used as laboratories, 1 as a drawing room, and 1 as a music 
room. The 4 rooms in the basement of the old building should be 
used as shops. In the basement of the new building a gymnasium 
could be provided for boys, 2 units could be used for cooking rooms, 
and 1 unit for another shop. The auditorium of the old building 
could be used as a gymnasium for girls. 

In other words, with the addition of a 12-room building the follow- 
ing accommodations could be secured for a 48-class school: 24 class- 
rooms, 2 gymnasiums, 2 laboratories, a drawing room, a music room, 
5 shops, and a cooking room. An auditorium could be erected be- 
tween the old and the new building, with entrances on the side and 
also with an entrance on the street, so that it could be used easily for 
community purposes; congestion could be relieved, and provision 
made for growth for 5 years. 



14 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

Since a classroom unit costs approximately $16,000, which includes 
the cost of an auditorium and gymnasium, a building of 12 units 
would cost $192,000. 

As has already been suggested, land should be purchased to square 
the present lot. Also additional playground space is needed, and for 
this purpose either the whole lot to the north of the present building 
or the lot directly across the street should be purchased. Of course, 
the lot to the north of the present building is preferable, as it would 
not necessitate the children crossing the street for play. Estimating 
the cost of land at approximately $30,000, the appropriation for 
the white schools would be $222,000. 

2. Negro schools. — As has been pointed out, the present Negro 
school buildings are so inadequate that it will be necessary to abandon 
them and erect new buildings. At the present time (1919-20) there 
are 595 children in the three public schools, 15 classes. The increase 
has been approximately at the rate of one class a year. Therefore, 
provision should be made for at least 750 children, or 18 classes, in 
order to provide for growth for at least four years. 

On the work-study-play plan, this would necessitate a building of 
nine classrooms and four special activity rooms — a shop for boys, a 
cooking room for girls, a nature-study room, and a library. An 
auditorium and gymnasium would be included. This makes a build- 
ing of 13 units. At a cost of $16,000 per classroom unit, a building 
of 13 units would cost $208,000. Estimating the cost of land at 
$10,000, the building and land would come to $218,000. The total 
cost, then, of a building program as outlined would be $440,000. 

If it is desired, however, to limit the contemplated bond issue to 
$300,000, making temporary arrangements for the Negro schools, 
and thereby postponing the erection of a permanent building, the 
following Plan II is suggested. 

PLAN II. 

Erect two portable buildings of the modern type for Negro children 
in the northern and southern ends of the town. Each building 
should accommodate 10 classes. This would necessitate four class- 
rooms, $4,000; an auditorium, $2,500; gymnasium, $2,500; a shop, 
$2,000; a cooking room, $3,000; a drawing room, $1,000; nature- 
study room, $1,000. All these units can be combined into a single 
building with corridor, principal's office, store, showers, and heat- 
ing plant, making a total approximate cost of $30,000 for each 
building. This would make the total budget for the Negro schools 
$60,000, or with the cost of sites approximately $70,000, thus bring- 
ing the total budget to approximately $300,000. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, X. C. 15 

Cost of building program according to Plan I. 
White school : 

Erect a 12-unit building which, with present high-school building, 
would provide for a 48-class school — 

Cost of building , $192, 000 

Cost of land 30, 000 

Total ■ 222, 000 

Negro school: 

Erect a 13-unit building which will house an 18-class school — 

Cost of building 208, 000 

Cost of land 10, 000 

Total 218, 000 

Grand total 440, 000 

Cost of building program according to Plan II. 
White school : 

Erect a 12-unit building which, with present high-school building, 
would provide for a 48-class school — 

Cost of building $192, 000 

Cost of land 30, 000 

Total 222, 000 

Negro school: 

Two movable buildings each to contain — 

Four classrooms 4, 000 

Auditorium 2, 500 

Gymnasium 2, 500 

Shop 2, 000 

Cooking room 3, 000 

Drawing room 1, 000 

Nature study 1, 000 

15. 000 

Corridors, heating plant, etc 15, 000 

Total 30, 000 

Cost of two buildings 60, 000 

Cost of land 10. 000 

Total 70, 000 

Grand total cost for both white and Negro schools 292. 00 



III. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 

APATHY OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. 

The board of aldermen is charged by law with the duty of electing 
the members of the board of education. Four vacancies occur each 
year. On Monday, December 6, 1920, at a. meeting of the board of 



16 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N". C. 

aldermen, nine vacancies in the board of education were filled. It 
appears, therefore, that the board of aldermen has not taken sufficient 
interest in the affairs of the public schools to discharge its duties at 
the proper time. The fact that this lapse could occur without public 
protest suggests the absence of a keen interest in their schools on the 
part of the citizens and taxpayers of Elizabeth City. 

INTEREST OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN SCHOOL AFFAIRS. 

Some indication of the degree of interest taken in school affairs is 
afforded by noting the regularity with which members attend the 
meetings of the board. 

The minutes of the board were examined, and the attendance 
noted for the period from August 10, 1917, to November 5, 1920, or 
three years and three months. During this period there were a 
number of interruptions in the regular order of meetings. For 
example, no meeting was held between December 13, 1918, and 
February 7, 1919; no meeting was held between October 16, 1919, 
and February 24, 1920. 

During the period mentioned 41 meetings were held, at only 3 of 
which were more than 12 members present; there were 8 meetings 
at which only 6, 7, or 8 members were present. The average at- 
tendance was only 10 members. See table following: 

Attendance of members of the board of education at its meetings Dec. 13, 1918 to Feb. 7. 1919. 



dumber of mem 
bers present. 




Number of 
meetings. 


Aggregate 
attendance. 


6 




2 


12 


7 




3 


21 


8 




3 


24 


9 




10 


90 


10 




7 


70 


11 




6 


66 


12 




7 


84 


13 




2 


26 


14 




1 


14 




Total . 


41 


407 



If 16 members had been present at each of the 41 meetings, the 
aggregate attendance would be 656; the actual attendance was 407, 
or only 62 per cent. The passing grade in the schools under the 
board's direction is 75. 

During the period from August 29, 1919, to November 5, 1920, the 
board held 13 meetings. Only one member attended 13 meetings; 
only 6 members attended 10 or more meetings. The average number 
of meetings attended was 9.5. See table following: 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CIT¥, IT. C. 17 

Attendance of members of the board of education at its meetings Aug. 29, 1919, to Nov. 5\ 

1920. 

Number of meet- Number of members Aggregate 

ings attended. attending. attendance. 

2 12 

3 2 6 

5 15 

6 2 12 

7 17 

8 2 16 

9 19 

10 2 20 

11 1 11 

12 2 24 

13 1 13 



Total 13 125 

If 16 members had attended each of the 13 meetings, the aggregate 
attendance would be 208; the actual attendance was 125, or only 
60.1 per cent. 

The efficiency of the board, as well as the degree of active interest 
manifested, so far as these are indicated by regularity of attendance 
upon the official meetings of the board, have been deteriorating. 

Selection of the school hoard. — The school board of Elizabeth Citv 
is composed of 16 members, 4 from each of the 4 wards, appointed by 
the board of aldermen for a term of 4 years. 

Although the method of choosing board members and the size of 
the board are contrary to general practice, and to the general opinion 
of students of school administration, the survey committee does not 
recommend that the method of selecting members be abandoned, but 
it does recommend that the size of the board be reduced to 5 members, 
appointed at large for a term of 5 years, one member to be appointed 
each } T ear. 

Size of hoard. — The school board should be composed of fewer 
members, for the following reasons: The present board of 16 mem- 
bers is unwieldy and unnecessary for the transaction of business; 
a smaller board would consider school matters more carefully; in a 
large board too much dependence is placed on a few to do the think- 
ing and the work; the individual member feels that he does not count 
for much in a large board, and often loses interest. 

The recommendation that the size of the board be reduced is made 
primarily on the ground that the present board is not functioning 
efficiently. 

Term of office. — The tendency in the best school practice is to 
lengthen the term of office of members of the board. A long term,. 
61929—21 3 ' 



18 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

with only partial renewal of the personnel at each new election, 
usually insures a settled administrative policy. The present term 
of 4 years in Elizabeth City is satisfactory in this respect. The 
change to 5 years is suggested chiefly in view of the fact that it is 
recommended that the board be composed of 5 members. 

Ward appointment. — Appointment of members of the board of 
education should be made irrespective of residence by wards. The 
schools belong to the entire city. Just what is gained by appoint- 
ment by wards no one in Elizabeth City could make clear. 

At present members of the board of education are virtually chosen 
by the aldermen of their respective wards, rather than by the entire 
board of aldermen, representing the entire city. 

With a board of only 5 members, and only one to be appointed 
each year, the board of aldermen would approach the task of select- 
ing from the entire city the person best qualified for the position 
from an entirely different point of view. 

Method of choosing. — At present, it is recommended that the board 
of aldermen continue to appoint members of the board of educa- 
tion, in preference to popular election, which is the more commonly 
accepted practice. 

This recommendation is based on the belief that in the present 
state of public opinion in Elizabeth City those persons who are 
best qualified to serve on the school board would probably not be 
active candidates for popular election, or allow their names to be 
used. 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. 

Control of funds. — The school board of Elizabeth City has, as it 
should have, complete control of the expenditure of the school 
funds, once they are appropriated by the board of aldermen and 
apportioned from the State and county school funds. 

Without definite recommendation of a change in the present- 
arrangement, it may be stated that the present tendency in prac- 
tice is to make city boards of education entirely independent of 
other branches of city government, so that they may have power to 
levy, within statutory limitations, a tax sufficient to maintain the 
public schools on a high plane of efficiency. 

When the board is elected by the people, and thus responsible 
directly to the people, it is not likely to embark on undertakings 
which do not command general popular approval. 

Legislative, executive, and inspectorial powers. — The work of a 
board of education may be classed as legislative, executive, and 
inspectorial. 

No school board can perform all of these functions, because of 
lack of time, and, more especially, because its members are not 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 19 

fitted to perform them all. Progressive boards limit their func- 
tions to the first and last, and employ a superintendent with special 
training and qualifications to serve as the executive of the board. 

Legislative functions include the making of general policies, and 
regulations relative to their execution. These policies concern the 
scope of the school system, selection of sites for buildings, the kinds 
of schools to be established and maintained, the facilities to be sup- 
plied, and the apportionment of the school funds. The Elizabeth 
City school board does not give adequate time and attention to 
legislative functions. 

The board employs an executive officer, the superintendent of 
schools, and apparently gives him full executive authority. 

The board practically ignores its inspectorial function, so far as 
evidence could be found. The. board does not know what the 
schools are doing. 

Those features of the work of the schools concerning which the 
board should be informed include: 

General school conditions. 

Regularity of attendance. 

Progress of the pupils. 

Cost per pupil in elementary schools. 

Cost per pupil in high school. 

Cost per pupil in colored schools. 

Cost per pupil for each item of expenditure. 

Sanitary conditions. 

Attitude of pupils toward school work. 

Attitude of the teachers. 

Careers of pupils after leaving school. 

Board members should visit the schools occasionally to observe 
general school conditions at first hand. The board should keep 
informed upon the practice in what are considered the good city 
school systems of the country. 

Members of the board, with the superintendent of schools, should 
visit other school systems from time to time, and attend educational 
meetings, and require from the superintendent reports upon what 
has been seen and heard. 

If the board were better informed in school matters it would 
then be able to ask the superintendent questions concerning the 
administration and supervision of the Elizabeth City schools, such 
as: 

What is the best practice and what the best educational thought 
regarding corporal punishment ? 

Should children 12 to 15 years of age be taught in the same classes 
with children 6 years of age ? 

What measures can be taken to reach children of school age who 
are not now in school ? 



'20 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, 1ST. C. 

THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. 

The superintendent should keep in orderly and systematic manner 
statistical information concerning significant matters relating to the 
school. In other words, the superintendent should be making a 
.continuous survey of the school system. 

In a school system that is steadily improving in the quality of its 
work, there will be found, among others, the following character- 
istics: 

(1) From year to year the school system will enroll a larger per- 
centage of children of school age, and will carry them further along 
in the grades before they drop out. 

(2) The percentage of pupils in school above compulsory attend- 
ance age to those of compulsory attendance ages will increase. 

(3) The proportion of over-age pupils and pupils who are making 
slow progress will decrease. 

(4) Fewer pupils will fail of promotion, and fewer will drop out of 
school before completing the course. 

(5) Sufficient teachers and classrooms will be provided as the 
number of children increases, so that all may be accommodated 
comfortably and adequately. 

(6) The professional qualifications of the teachers will be advanc- 
ing steadily. 

(7) There will be increasing regularity of attendance. 

(8) When pupils leave school before the completion of grammar 
school or high school, the reasons will be ascertained, and in the 
light of information thus gained the work of the schools will be 
modified in the endeavor to meet the' needs of such children more 
adequately. 

(9) The careers of children will be followed up after they leave 
school. 

(10) Instruction in the schools will react more and more upon 
the homes and lives of the people; especially instructions in health, 
music, art, literature, manual training, and home economics. 

Definite information concerning these and other matters should 
be collected, compiled, and interpreted. 

Records now in the office of the superintendent contain very little 
to show in what respects the schools of Elizabeth City are better 
to-day than they were 5 or 10 years ago. 

The board should at once provide the means of keeping simple 
but adequate records, including a clerk or secretary to the superin- 
tendent, who has some knowledge of this kind of work. 

The data to be collected should include : 

(1) The number of children of each year of age in the city, and 
the number in school, both public and private. 



EDUCATIONAL, SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N". C. 21 

(2) The number of children of compulsory attendance ages in 
and out of school. 

(3) The number of children above compulsory attendance ages in 
and out of school. 

(4) The ratio of school pupils above compulsory attendance age 
to those of compulsory attendance ages; also annual changes in 
this ratio. 

(5) Number of pupils for each 100 beginners who drop out of 
school at each age, and at each grade; number of those leaving to 
enter school elsewhere; number leaving for other specified causes. 

(6) Per cent of those entering the first grade who complete the 
elementary school course, and the high school course. 

(7) Per cent of those completing the elementary school course 
who enter high school. 

(8) Per cent of those entering the high school who complete the 
course. 

(9) Per cent of high-school graduates who enter college; the kinds 
of courses pursued in college, and the quality of work done. 

(10) Age-grade distribution of all pupils for the entire system, 
and for each school separately. 

(11) Average daily attendance based on number belonging and on 
school population; also distribution showing the number and per 
cent of children attending 1 to 10 days, 11 to 20 days, etc. 

(12) Present occupations of those who have graduated from the 
high school within 4, 5, or 10 years; and similar information con- 
cerning those who have left during the same period without com- 
pleting the course. 

(13) Number and per cent of pupils who fail of promotion in each 
grade and in each subject. 

(14) Ability and achievements of pupils, as determined by school 
grades and standard objective tests. 

(15) Various cost items. 

(16) Preparation, experience, and other significant facts regarding 
the teachers. 

(17) Significant facts regarding schools in other cities. 
The r facts having been collected and compiled the superintendent 

shouldjuse them in preparing his monthly and annual reports to 
the board. The annual report should be published for distribution 
to the public. 

From the data collected, tables and charts should be prepared 
and published in the annual report, and also from time to time in 
the local newspapers. 
61929—21 4 



22 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, 3ST. C. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 

Elementary schools {white). — The median salary paid white 
elementary school teachers in Elizabeth City is low in comparison 
with the amounts paid in other cities having a population of 8,000 
to 30,000. 

In a group of 68 cities located in the Eastern wStates Elizabeth 
City is next to the lowest; in a group of 64 cities in the Great Lakes 
States Elizabeth City ranks 62d; in a group of 33 cities in the 
Great Plains States Elizabeth City ranks 27th; in comparison with 
a group of 24 cities in the Western States Elizabeth City ranks lowest ; 
in a group of 33 cities in the Southern States Elizabeth City ranks 
23d. 

These figures relate to the school year 1919-20; it is probable 
that Elizabeth City has somewhat improved its relative position 
this year. 

The salary schedule would be improved by providing a greater 
difference between the minimum and maximum salaries, and by 
providing a longer period in which to reach the maximum. 

The present plan offers no inducement for special industry or for 
sustained effort to secure self-improvement. 

The following salary schedule is suggested for consideration by 
the Elizabeth City board : 

Table 5. — Suggested salary schedule of elementary and high school teachers {white). 



Teachers. 



One-year teachers (probationary for |3 
years). 

Three-year teachers. 

Five-year tea hers. 

Permanent teachers 



Length 
of time 
of ap- 
point- 
ment. 



1 year... 

3 years . . 

5 years . . 

C 1 ) 



Elementary. 



Mini- 
mum. 



$1, 000 

1, 225 

1, 450 
1,700 



Maxi- 
mum. 



•II, 150 

1,375 
1,650 
2, 000 



High school. 



Mini- 
mum. 



$1, 200 

1,425 
1,650 
1.900 



Maxi- 
mum. 



11,350 

1,575 
1,850 
2, 200 



Yearly 
salary 

in- 
crease. 



S75 

75 
50 
50 



Year in 

Which 

group 

maximum 

can be 

reached. 



Third. 

Third. 
Fifth. 
Seventh. 



i Until retired. 

When the maximum of any group is reached by any teacher, the 
following alternative courses of action should be open to the board: 

(1) Termination of the contract (permissible at the close of each 
year in group No. 1). 

(2) Reappointment annually at the group maximum salary. 

(3) Promotion to the next higher group. 

Promotion from group to group beyond group No. 2 should be 
granted only to teachers who have shown special merit and have 
given evidence of valuable professional study. 

Elementary-school and high-school teachers of equivalent prepara- 
tion, experience, and skill should receive the same salary. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 23 

Provision should be made for the following supervising principal- 
ships, to be held only by persons who have had definite preparation 
for the work of supervision, and whose programs provide a definite 
amount of time for this purpose: 

(a) Grades 1 to 6, inclusive. 

(&) Junior-senior high school (providing these are both housed in 
the same building). 

(c) The colored schools. 

Principals should be assigned definite duties and responsibilities 
as such, and the superintendent should then not interfere within 
these limits. 

More efficient enforcement of the compulsory education legisla- 
tion is needed. The truant officer stated that he hardly ever receives 
a report of truancy on the part of the colored children. The super- 
intendent stated that no earnest attempt is made to compel regular 
attendance on the part of colored children. 

The school nurse and attendance officer service might be combined 
to advantage. 

Special teachers of the following subjects should be provided, 
whose duties should include teaching classes of the older children and 
assisting the regular teachers of the lower grades to plau the work 
done in the regular classrooms: 

(a) Manual training. 

(b) Drawing. 

(c) Home economics. 

(d) Music. 

(<?) Physical education and athletic sports. 
(/) Nature study , gardening, agriculture. 
(g) Commercial branches. 

The better teachers in the lower grades should be promoted with 
their classes for periods of two or three years, and the poorer ones 
eliminated. 

There should be a gradual reorganization of the method of instruc- 
tion, which now consists largely of questions and answers based on 
formal textbook assignments; there should be more use of the prob- 
lem method, the socialized recitation, and supervised study. 

One member of the board of school trustees now serves as secretary 
of the board, and for this service is paid $300 per annum. This 
arrangement should be discontinued, and a capable full-time secretary 
employed, who will serve as secretary-clerk to the superintendent of 
schools and also secretary to the board. 

The office of the superintendent should be provided with means for 
the safe-keeping of the school records. 

Examples of school programs offered for consideration by the Eliza- 
beth City board may be found in Bulletin, 1920, No. 21, pp. 24, 25, 
and Bulletin, 1918, No. 48, p. 39. 



24 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

FORMAL EXAMINATIONS. 

The Elizabeth City schools depend to a great extent upon exami- 
nations held at stated intervals to determine the " marks" to be 
given to a pupil and to determine whether he should be promoted. 

These examinations have led to " cramming/' to undue worry, and 
to the practice of working with the sole end in view of passing the 
examinations, thus causing the entire work of the school to center 
about this one idea. These examinations have helped put a premium 
upon worry methods, and they have occasioned a vast amount of 
unnecessary and unprofitable labor for the teacher in reading an 
endless number of papers. 

A test is a useful means of showing the teacher where her instruction 
has been weak, and where steady, but it is practically useless as a 
means of determining what pupils should be promoted. 

The formal examination has fallen into disrepute, and is but little 
used in progressive school systems to determine promotions. 

COST OF MAINTAINING THE SCHOOLS. 

The cost of maintaining the Elizabeth City schools is much below 
the average for cities of its size, when measured by cost per pupil 
in average daily attendance, cost per pupil enrolled, and by the tax 
rate on the real valuation. 

The cost per pupil in average daily attendance in Elizabeth City 
is $29.39, while the average for all cities in the United States in 
1917-18 was $49.41; the average for cities of 10,000 to 25,000 popu- 
lation was $44.81. 

The average cost per pupil enrolled in Elizabeth City is $21.88, 
while the average for the United States, including rural schools, was 
$30.91 in 1918. 

When compared with a list of cities whose schools are considered 
good, the cost per pupil in Elizabeth City is very low. 

The total tax rate in Elizabeth City for school purposes is 49 cents 
on the $100. This includes the State, county, and city rates for 
schools. The tax levied by the board of aldermen is only 16 cents. 

In order to maintain the schools as they should be, the city tax 
rate for school purposes should be doubled. To this rate should 
be added enough to take care of interest and sinking fund on indebted- 
ness. This would possibly add 16 cents more, making a total tax 
rate of 48 cents to be levied by the board of aldermen. 

Adding to this the 33 cents now levied by the State and county, 
Elizabeth City would be taxed 81 cents on the $100 for school pur- 
poses. The average rate for cities the size of Elizabeth City is 66 
cents (1917-18); some cities have a rate of 100 cents and more. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



25 



If the tax rate were to be increased, say, 30 cents on the $100, very 
few persons would have more than $15 additional tax annually to 
pay, since 1,219 of the 1,602 individual white taxpayers are assessed 
at less than $5,000 and only 6 of the 770 colored taxpayers are 
assessed at $5,000 or more. 

The following table shows the number of taxpayers and the esti- 
mated average amount of the assessed valuation of each: 

Table 6. — Real and 'personal property of individuals subject to city taxes, Elizabeth 

City, N. C. 

WHITE INDIVIDUALS. 



Less than $1,000. 

81,000 to $1,999. 
5,000 to 

10,000 to 

20,000 to 

30,000 to 

40,000 to 

50,000 to 

100,000 to 199,999 . 
200,000 and over. 



9,999. 
19,999. 
29,999. 
39,999. 
49,999. 
99,999. 



Total. 



Amount. 



Number 
of indi- 
viduals 
assessed 
(white). 



590 

629 

204 

98 

23 

25 

11 

14 

6 

2 



1,602 



Esti- 
mated 
average 
amount. 



3,000 

7,500 

15, 000 

25, 000 

35, 000 

45, 000 

75, 000 

150, 000 

275, 000 



Esti- 
mated 
aggre- 
amount. 



$295, 000 

1, 887, 000 

1, 530, 000 

1, 470, 000 

575, 000 

875, 000 

495, 000 

1, 050, 000 

900, 000 

550, 000 



9, 627, 000 



COLORED INDIVIDUALS. 



Amount. 



Less than $1,000 
$1,000 to $1,999. 

2,000 to 2,999., 

3,000 to 3,999. 

4,000 to 4,999. 

5,000 and over. 

Total 



Number 
of indi- 
viduals 
assessed 
(colored) 



630 

108 

21 

3 

2 

6 



770 



Esti- 
mated 
average 
amount. 



1,500 
2,500 
3,500 
4,500 
11, 000 



Esti- 
mated 
aggre- 
gate 
amount. 



$315, 000 

167, 000 

52, 500 

10, 500 

9,000 

66, 000 



620, 000 



Table 7. — Real and personal property of corporations subject to city taxes, Elizabeth 

City, N. C. 



Amount. 



Less than 81,000 . 

$1,000 to $4,999 

5,000 to 9,999 

10,000 to 19,999 

20,000 to 29,999 

30,000 to 39,999 

40,000 to 49,999 

50,000 to 99,999 

100,000 to 199,999 

200,000 and over . 

Total , 



Number 
of cor- 
pora- 
tions 

assessed. 



6 

10 
9 
9 
3 
7 
5 
4 
11 
3 



67 



Esti- 
mated 
average 
amount. 



3,000 

7,500 

15, 000 

25, 000 

35, 000 

45, 000 

75, 000 

150, 000 

350, 000 



Esti- 
mated 
aggre- 
gate 
amount. 



$3, 000 

30, 000 

67, 500 

135, 000 

75, 000 

245, 000 

225, 000 

300, 000 

1, 650, 000 

1, 050, 000 



3, 780, 000 



26 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. ■ 

The following summary, taken from the books in the assessor's 
office, is added in order to supplement the " estimates" in the pre- 
ceding table: 

Table 8. — Summary of assessed valuation of property subject to city taxes, Elizabeth 

City, N. C. 

White individuals $9, 343, 255 

Colored individuals 589, 825 

Corporations 3,366,970 

Total 13, 300, 050 

On the showing of these figures, it is evident that the tax rate for 
school purposes could be greatly increased, and that very few would 
have more than $10 to $15 additional tax to pay. 



IV. SCHOOL CENSUS AND ENROLLMENT. 

A school census, taken early in the school year, shows that there 
are in Elizabeth City 1,857 white children from 6 to 20 years of age. 
The number of white children enrolled is 1,410. There are thus 
462 children from 6 to 20 years of age not in school. Since 154 of 
these are 19 or 20 years of age, the number of school age not in school 
is 308. Practically all of these are from 14 to 18 years of age. The 
following table gives the number of census children by ages and the 
enrollment by ages : 

Table 9. — Census of white children — School enrollment. 





Ages. 




6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


Census 


128 
127 


152 
118 


138 
145 


154 
147 


139 
141 


140 
149 


142 
143 


114 
105 


135 
111 


108 

82 


131 
59 


116 
41 


106 
21 


92 
6 


ff> 


Enrollment 


n 







It may be noted that at several ages the enrollment is more than 
the school census. This discrepancy is small and may possibly be 
accounted for by the fact that the enrollment figures for June 
included all children in school since September. 

Some of these children may not have been in the city when the 
census was taken and others may have moved in after it had been 
taken. Then again some children may have been transferred and 
possibly counted twice. 

The important point to note is that many boys and girls in Elizabeth 
City from 14 to 18 years of age are not in school. This point should 
not be overlooked by the school board in planning for a new high- 
school building, for it may be safely predicted that many more of the 



EDUCATIOXAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



27 



older boys and girls will remain in school when a modern high-school 
building is erected and interesting courses of study are offered. 

There are in Elizabeth City 1,314 colored children from 6 to 20 
years of age. Of these, 692 are enrolled in school, leaving 632 not in 
school. The following table shows the number of children at each 
age, the number in, and the number not in school: 

Table 10. — Census of colored children of census age — School enrollment. 





Ages. 




6 


7 


8 


9 10 


11 12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


Total. 


Census 


111 
82 


112 
70 


108 
97 


96 

78 


116 

82 


104 

89 


101 
82 


80 
37 


68 

30 


103 
19 


74 
14 


70 

7 


65 
4 


68 
1 


48 


1.324 


Enrollment 


692 








Not in school 


29 42 


11 


18 


34 


15 


19 


43 


38 


84 


60 


63 


61 


67 


48 


632 











Of the children 6 to 14 years of age, inclusive, 31 per cent are not 
in school, while of the children 15 to 18 years of age, inclusive, the 
high-school ages, 86 per cent are not in school. It is a well-known 
fact that few of the Negro children in Elizabeth City reach the fifth 
grade; many barely complete the third. Thus the 86 per cent of 
children over 14 years of age not in school have scarcely the bar e 
tools, reading and writing, and are but a few degrees removed from 
illiteracy. 

In order to understand the degree of success with which a school 
system is functioning, it is of prime importance to ascertain the facts 
concerning the children in the schools, their ages, their stages of 
advancement, their rates of progress through the grades, and the 
extent to which they continue in school to the completion of the 
course. 

There is at present no adequate system of records to give these 
facts concerning the children in the Elizabeth City schools. A 
special form was prepared on which the teachers gave the information 
from which it has been possible to derive certain of the more important 
facts. 

AGE-GRADE DISTRIBUTION. 

The first step is to arrange the pupils according to their ages and 
the grades in which they are enrolled. A table showing these facts 
is called an age-grade distribution; see Tables 11 and 12. Such 
tables should be prepared for the entire school system at least twice 
each year, and carefully studied and compared with those made 
previously. 



28 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



Table 11. — Summary of enrollment in white 


elementary 


schools 


Elizabeth I 


Oity 




Grades. 


Sex. 


Ages. 


Total. 




6 


7 


8 


9 


10 11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 






I Male 


58 

57 

115_ 

6 


27 
18 
45 

25 


14 

14 

JL 

24 
18 
42 

35 
36 
71 


6 

6 

12 

20 
12 
32 


2 

2 

4 

7 

7 

14 


1 
1 

2 

4 
4 

8 

16 

6 

99 






1 






109 


1. 


{ Female 


1 
1 

5 
1 

6 

4 
5 
9 

11 

9 
90 


1 
1 

2 
1 
3 

1 






100 




1 Total 


1 
1 






209 




I Male 


1 


— 


94 


2. 


\ Female 


6 I 45 
12 1 70 


99 




1 Total 


1 
2 


1 


— 


185 




1 Male 






19 1 18 
22 1 16 
41 1 34 


95 


3 


{ Female 




3 

3 






88 




[ Total 




1 

5 

7 

12 

11 

5 

16 

14 

7 

21 

14 
10 

24 


2 

3 
3 
6 

5 
3 
8 

9 

7 

16 

8 

5 

13 






183 




[Male 




2 I 25 
2 1 34 

4 1 59 


13 1 22 
23 | 12 

36 1 34 






81 


4 


< Female 










90 




1 Total 










171 




(Male 








1 
1 
2 


18 
27 
45 

1 

7 
8 


17 I 18 
20 1 15 

37 1 33 


7 
2 
9 

3 
4 

7 

3 

10 
13 


l 
"i" 

*4 
1 

5 


77 


5 


< Female 








73 




1 Total 








150 




[Male 








15 

27 
_42_ 

2 
2 
4 


12 
21 
33 

14 
23 
37 


55 


6 


\ Female 








1 


74 




1 Total 








1 


129 




[Male 








45 


7 


< Female 










51 




[ Total 






1 




96 




[Male 






! 










64 

63 

127 


52 

66 

118 


75 ! 71 
70 ! 76 

145 147 


59 77 


64 

75 

139 


47 
31 
78 


29 
18 

47 


14 
16 
30 


5 
1 
6 


557 


Total... 


< Femal e 


82 
141 


72 
149 


570 




[ Totla 


1,127 

















Table 12. — Summary oj 


' enrollment 


in 


colored 


elementary schools, 


Elizabeth City. 1 




Sex. 


Ages. 




Grades. 


5 

7 

5 

12 


6 

34 

47 
81 

1 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


21 

and 
over. 


Total. 




[Male 


29 
40 
69 

1 


37 
35 
72 

3 
13 
16 

2 
7 
9 


15 

24 
39 

4 
10 
14 


23 
16 
39 

9 

1 
10 


16 
10 
26 

5 

11 

16 

8 

8 

16 

11 

8 
19 


4 
10 
14 

1 

7 
8 

11 

9 

20 

4 

8 

13 


2 
3 
5 

.... 
1 

4 
5 
9 

4 

8 

12 

2 

4 
6 

2 
"2 
















167 


1 


\ Female . . 

{ Total 

(Male 


1 
1 

1 




1 

1 


.... 






193 












360 












26 


2 
















43 




[ Total 




1 


1 


1 

"~2 
2 

1 
1 

2 

2 
6 

8 

5 

5 

3 

8 

11 














69 




(Male 




10 g 11 
Si 8 

18 P 19 












47 


3 




















47 




I Total 




















94 




(Male. . 








2 
5 

7 


8 

2 

10 

1 
2 
3 












30 


4 












1 
1 
2 

3 
3 
6 

1 

7 
8 


1 
1 

3 
2 

5 
1 








1 

1 


34 




1 Total 
















64 




[Male 










2 1 7 
7 1 14 

9 |l 21 


1 
1 
2 

1 


l 
l 

2 
2 




20 


5 


















38 




I Total.... 
















58 




(Male 












1 
2 
3 


2 
4 
6 


1 




13 


g 


< Female 












1 
1 


15 




[ Total 


.... 










1 

3 
3 
6 


1 

3 
1 

4 


2 


1 




28 




|Male 














10 


7 


















1 
1 


2 
2 






2 

2 


24 




I Total . 




















34 




(Male 


























7| 
5 
12 


35 
47 

82 


30 
40 
70 


42 
55 
97 


31 

47 

78 


52 
30 
82 


43 
46 

89 


29 
53 

82 


14 
23 
37 


7 
23 
30 


7 

12 
19 


7 

7 

14 


5 
2 

7 


3 
1 

4 


1 

"i" 


3 
3 


313 


Total 


1 Total 


394 
707 



i This table includes all colored pupils reported in Elizabeth City public schools, as follows: Sawyer 
Town, grade 1; Cale Street, grades 1 and 2; Shannon Street, grades 2-5; training department, State Normal 
Schools (exclusive of pupils not resident in Elizabeth City), grades 1-7. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



29 



The usual age at which children enter school is 6 years, though 
many do not enter until they are 7. In considering the age-grade 
table, therefore, it is customary to regard children of 6 or 7 years of 
age as "of normal age" for grade 1, and children of 7 or 8 years of age 
as of normal age for grade 2, and so on. 

The first facts to be noted in these tables are the excessive pro- 
portions of children who are beyond the normal ages for the grades 
in which they are enrolled, and the wide spread of ages represented 
in individual grades, especially grades 1 and 2. 

It does not require expert professional knowledge to understand 
that something is wrong, for example, when white children of all 
ages from 6 years to 15 years are grouped together attempting to do 
the same work. Here is a spread of 10 years in the ages of the chil- 
dren, 3 years more than the span of the entire elementary school 
course. Included in this group are little tots of 6, as well as youths 
who have entered upon the adolescent period and are old enough 
to be in the second or third year of high school, and children of all 
ages in between; and all are trying to do second-year work. 

The situation is even worse in the colored schools, where children 
of all ages from 5 years to 16 years are found in the first grade. 

The facts with regard to acceleration and retardation of pupils are 
summarized in Table 13. 



Table 13.— Acceleration and retardation — Summary of enrollment in Elizabeth City. 

■ WHITE SCHOOLS. 





Number of pupils. 


Per cent of pupils. 


Grades. 


Accel- 
erated. 


Of 

normal 
age. 


Re- 
tarded. 


Total. 


Accel- 
erated. 


Of 

normal 

age. 


Re- 
tarded. 


Total. 


1 




160 
112 
112 

95 
82 
75 
61 


49 
65 
68 
72 
66 
45 
31 


209 
189 
183 
171 
150 
129 
96 


0.0 
6.3 
1.6 
2.3 
1.3 
7.0 
4.1 


76. 5 
59.2 
61.4 
55.6 
54.7 
58.1 
63.5 


23.5 
34.5 
37.0 
42.1 
44.0 
34.9 
32.4 


100.0 


2 


12 
3 
4 
2 
9 
4 


100.0 


3 


100.0 


4 


100.0 


5 


100.0 


6 


100.0 


7 


100.0 






Total 


34 


697 


396 


1,127 


3.0 


62.0 


35.0 


100.0 







COLORED SCHOOLS. 



1 


12 

1 


150 
17 
27 
17 
12 
9 
3 


198 
51 

67 
47 
46 
18 
31 


360 
69 
94 
64 
58 
28 
34 


3.3 
1.4 
.0 
.0 
.0 
3.6 
.0 


41.7 
24.6 
28.6 
26.6 
20.7 
32.1 
8.8 


55.0 
74.0 
71.4 
73.4 
79.3 
64.3 
91.2 


100.0 


2 


100.0 


3 


100.0 


4 




100. o 


5 




100.0 


6 


1 


100.0 


7 


100.0 








Total 


14 


235 


458 


707 


1.9 


33.3 


64.8 


100.0 







From this summary it is observed that more than one-third of the 
white pupils and nearly two-thirds of the colored pupils are 



30 



EDUCATIONAL STTEVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, 1S T . C. 



u retarded," that is, behind the grades that they would be in if they 
had entered school as late as 7 years of age and had then progressed 
at the normal rate of one grade each year. For the white children 
the amount of retardation is greatest in grades 4 and 5, 42 per cent 
and 44 per cent, respectively, and for colored children 91 per cent 
in the seventh grade. 

For comparison with other school systems Table 14 has been 
prepared. 

Table 14. — Per cent of children under age, of normal age, and over age. 



Cities. 



Elizabeth City, white. . 
Elizabeth City, colored . 

Elyria, Ohio l 

Average, 29 cities 2 



Under 



3.0 
1.9 

24.3 
29.0 



Of 

normal 

age. 



62.0 
33.3 
42.5 
34.0 



Over 
age. 



35.0 
64. S 
33.1 
37.0 



i See Bull., 1918, No. 15, p. 47. 

2 Ayres: Identification of the Misfit Child. 

From these figures it appears that the amount of retardation in 
the Elizabeth City schools is not excessive when compared with other 
cities, though in grades 4 and 5 it is considerably greater. The 
comparison shows in a striking manner, however, the deficiency of 
Elizabeth City in the proportion of children who are under age for 
the grades in which they are enrolled. Only 3 per cent of white 
children and 2 per cent of colored children are under age, whereas in 
other cities the proportions are about one-fourth or more. 

PER CENT OF DISTRIBUTION BY GRADES. 

Next to be considered is the proportionate distribution of the 
children through the grades. (See Table 15.) 



Table 


15.— Per 


cent of pupils (white) in each grade. 






Grades. 


Elizabeth 
City. 


Four 
States 
having 
the 7-4 
plan.i 


Grades. 


Elizabeth 
City. 


Four 
States 
having 
the 7-4 
plan. 1 


Kindergarten 




0.26 
23. 61 
13. 65 
13.35 

12. 86 

11.02 

9.03 


7 


6.9 
7.0 
6.2 
3.0 
3.1 


7.23 


1 


15.0 
13.5 
13.1 
12.2 
10.7 
9.3 


8 


4.06 


2 


9 


2.42 


3 


10 


1.53 


4 


11 


.98 


5 


Total 




6 


100. 


100. 00 









i See Bui., 1920, No. 11, Table 3, p. 20. 



In comparison with average conditions in other school systems 
having seven years of elementary school and four years of high school, 
Elizabeth City has fewer children in the first grade and more in the 
high-school grades. 



EDUCATIONAL STJEVEY CF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 



31 



Table 16 has been prepared to show conditions in the elementary 
schools separately. 

Table 16. — Per cent of elementary school pupils in each grade. 





White. 


Colored. 


Grades. 


Eliza- 
beth 
City. 


Four 
States I 
having 
7-4 plan. 1 


Eliza- 
beth 
City. 


Four 

States 

having 

7-4 plan. 


Kindergarten 




0.29 
25.94 
15.00 
14.67 
14.13 
12.11 
9.92 
7.94 




0.01 


1 


18.6 
16.8 
16.2 
15.2 
13.3 
11.4 
8.5 


51.9 


39. 28 


2 


9.8 i 17.19 


3 


13.3 ' 14.91 


4 


9. 12. 29 


5 


8.2 
3.9 

4.8 


8.52 


6 


5.15 


7 


2.65 






Total 


100.0 


100.00 


100.0 


100. 00 







i See Bui., 1920, No. 11, Table 3, p. 20. 

From these figures it appears that for the white schools, with the 
exception of grade one, the distribution does not vary significantly 
from that of other cities. The distribution of pupils in the colored 
schools, however, is so abnormal as to suggest the complete lack of 
systematic grading. 

HOLDING POWER OF THE SCHOOLS. 

Another measure of the efficiency of a school system is the success 
with which it retains the pupils until the completion of the course. 
For each 100 children who enter, how many complete the elementary 
school course, and how many complete the high-school course ? 

Answers to these vital questions can not now be found for the 
Elizabeth City schools; for the essential facts are not available. In 
the absence of definite knowledge as to the number of children entering 
school each year for the first time, the answers can be approximate 
only. 

It is possible, for example, to compute the number of children in 
each grade for each 100 children in grade 1. (See Table 17.) 

Table 17. — Number of children in each grade, based on 100 in the first grade. 





Elizabeth City. 

i 


Average 

of 30' 

cities 

(white). 1 


Grades. 


Elizabeth City. 


Average 
of 30 


urades. 

White. Colored. 


White. 


Colored. 


cities 
(white). 1 


1 


i 1 
100 


100 

88 
77 
75 
70 
63 


7 


46 
46 
41 
20 
10 


9 


52 


2 


91 

88 

82 

72 


19 
26 
18 
16 
8 


8... 


43 


3 


9. 






4 


10. . 








11 






6 


62 









i Figures for 1918-19; see Bui., 1920, No. 27, p. 21. Average of 30 cities of United States with a population 
of 10,000 or under. 



32 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

It is to be observed, first, that these figures are not based on 100 
beginners, for, as will appear hereafter, there are many repeaters in 
grade 1. Here, again, the figures for Elizabeth City compare favor- 
ably with those of other cities. 

However, further analysis is necessary before conditions can be 
fully understood. 

It is possible to arrive at the approximate number of children 
reaching any given age each year by computing the average of the 
numbers over a period of years. For this purpose ages 7 to 12 years 
are chosen, in order to include the groups least likely to be affected 
by late entrance to and early withdrawal from school. (See Table 18.) 

Table 18. — Number of pupils 7 to 12 years of age in Elizabeth City. 







Ages in years. 


White. 


Colored. 


7 


118 
145 
147 
141 
149 
143 


70 


8 


97 


9 


78 


10 


82 


11 


89 


12 


82 




Total 








843 
140 


498 




Average 




83 











The total number of children arriving at school age each year on 
the average, for whom school facilities should be provided, is thus 
shown to be approximately 140 white and 83 colored, or 223. If all 
children enter at about the same age, and progress through the schools 
at the normal rate of one grade each year, there would be approxi- 
mately 140 white pupils and 83 colored pupils in each of the seven 
grades. 

If more than these numbers are found in any grade, it is evident 
that children are repeating their work, or else, in some cases, possibly 
they have entered school earlier or later than the normal age at 
entrance. Adequate records in the superintendent's office would 
assist in determining causes and in planning remedies. 

Whatever the causes, Elizabeth City is now maintaining six first- 
grade classes for white pupils, with a total enrollment of 209, whereas 
four classes of approximately 35 pupils each should be sufficient. 
There are seven first-grade classes for colored pupils, with a total 
enrollment of 360, whereas three classes of less than 30 pupils each 
should be sufficient. 

THE SCHOOLS CARRY AN UNNECESSARY LOAD. 

With 140 beginning pupils each year (assuming a stable population,, 
not. affected by fluctuations in birth rate, death rate, and other 
factors), and with normal progress through the grades, the total 
enrollment in the white elementary school would be 980, and in the 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OE ELIZABETH CITY, N, C. 



33 



high school, 560; and in the colored elementary school, 581. (See 
Table 19.) 

Table 19. — -Number of pupils enrolled in each grade, compared with number of appro- 
priate age for the grade. 





White. 


Colored. 


Grades. 


Approxi- 
mate 
number 
at each 
age.i 


Number 
in school 
of appro- 
priate 
age for 
graded 


Number 
enrolled. 


Approxi- 
mate 
number 
at each 
age.i 


Number 
in school 
of appro- 
priate 
age 
ade.2 


Number 
enrolled. 


1 


140 
140 
140 
140 
140 
140 
140 


122 
131 
146 
144 
145 
141 
124 


209 
189 
183 
171 
150 
129 
96 


83 
83 
83 
83 
83 
83 
83 


76 
83 
77 
80 
85 
85 
59 


360 


2 


69 


3 


94 


4 


64 


5 


58 


6 


28 


7. ; 


34 






Total 


980 


953 


1,127 


581 


535 


707 






8 


140 
140 
140 
140 


108 
96 
70 
50 


97 
86 
42 
43 








9 








10. 








11 
















Total 


560 


324 


268 

















1 The approximate number of children at each year of age was obtained by computing the average num- 
ber of those 7 years to 12 years of age, inclusive. 

2 The number of children in school of appropriate age for each grade was obtained by computing the 
average of 6-year-old and 7-year-old children for grade 1, the average of 7-year-old and 8-year-old children 
for grade 2; and so on. 

In column 2 of this table is shown the actual number of pupils in 
school who are of ages appropriate for each grade. For grade 1 is 
entered the average number of children who are 6 years and 7 years 
old; for grade 2, the average number of those 7 years and 8 years old; 
and so on. These groups total, for the white schools, 953 elementary 
pupils and 324 high school pupils; and 535 colored elementary 
pupils. In the third column is shown the actual enrollment for the 
current year. 



V. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 

THE CURRICULUM SITUATION. 

The curriculum of the Elizabeth City elementary schools does not 
meet the requirements of a modern elementary curriculum. It 
contains no subject that was not taught 30 or 40 years ago in prac- 
tically all of our schools, unless we except domestic science, and 
omits still some subjects that our better schools taught fully 50 years 
ago. The curriculum makes no provision for physical training. 
It is the first business of any school system to build up the bodies 
of its children. While the children in Elizabeth City schools have 



34 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, ST; C. 

brief setting-up exercises every day, there is no well-planned course 
of physical activity and play. Physical education in public school 
does more to improve the results of instruction than almost any 
other single factor. The citizens of Elizabeth City should wish to 
have their children trained in body as well as in mind. 

Next, there is practically no music in the schools. What singing 
was heard was very poor. It should not be necessary to argue for 
the cultural and moral and physical values of good music. There 
can be no real community life and unity without it. The churches, 
civic organizations, clubs, and the like all need members who can 
sing. Is it not a responsibility of the schools ? The citizens of 
Elizabeth City should expect their schools to assume a large share 
of the burden of the musical education of the children. 

For the reason given for all deficiencies — no money — handwork 
and drawing have been sadly neglected. The little that is given in 
manual arts is very poorly done. There are no well-defined courses 
in these subjects. The citizens of Elizabeth City can not afford to 
have the latent artistic possibilities of its future citizens go undis- 
covered because the schools fail to arouse them. 

Home economics is very poorly provided for. 

Civics is an unknown subject in the elementary grades. Many of 
the children leave school before reaching the eighth grade, where 
civics are taught; hence they receive no systematic, well-organized 
civic training, and they are the ones who need it most of all. 

Nature study, or elementary science, is entirely neglected except 
for brief unorganized series of lessons, often connected with language 
or geography work. Do the citizens of Elizabeth City desire that 
their children's love of nature be undeveloped % The love for natural 
and physical sciences should be aroused and developed. The chil- 
dren of Elizabeth City will experience difficulty in competing with 
children from other communities in technical fields if no basis for 
this work is laid. 

What do the schools teach % Heading, writing, language, arithme- 
tic, physiology, geography, history, spelling, and some drawing and 
home economics. Important features of modern public school sys- 
tems are lacking. 

It is a commonly accepted principle of curriculum making that 
the courses offered should reflect in some measure the local commu- 
nity, to help the child interpret his own environment. Such is not 
the case in Elizabeth City. The course offered would fit just as well 
in New England, Alaska, Montana, or New Mexico. The course is 
made out according to adopted texts from page to page. Most mod- 
ern school systems write out a course of study to meet their own 
needs. Elizabeth City has no such course, but should have one. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 35 

Modern courses of study are generally differentiated, so that the 
slower children are not required to do the same amount of work in 
the same time as the brighter children. The practice of making 
.every child progress at the same rate through school ought to be dis- 
continued. Study of the results in Elizabeth City show that the 
bright child gets little more from school than the dull child and 
according to his ability not nearly so much. Is there any reason for 
holding a child back and giving him less than he wishes to do simply 
because he was created with more ability than his fellows? The 
course is entirely inflexible, except as the child bends it to suit his 
own mentality. 

The courses in the subjects offered are much the same as those 
found in many American communities. The child is occupied chiefly 
with acquiring facts which, while interesting, perhaps, in some 
instances, are entirely useless now or hereafter. Practically none of 
the subjects have anything at all to do with shaping his character or 
establishing practical, sound ideals. Many of the facts he gets will 
never be used. 

Recommendations. — 1. There should be prepared and printed a 
modern, flexible course of study, adaptable to the needs of individ- 
ual pupils. 

2. Music, art, handwork, home economics, civics, gardening, ele- 
mentary science, and physical training should be added to the cur- 
riculum. 

3. The subjects now taught should be reorganized, with the elimi- 
nation of worthless fact material and the inclusion of useful knowl- 
edge. 

4. The curriculum should be adapted to the needs of the children 
of Elizabeth City. It should be stamped with characteristics of the 
Elizabeth City community. 

5. The course should be organized around the large units of study, 
problems, or projects suitable to the grades in which they are used. 
Such a course increases interest and is essentially of the type to 
stimulate activity and initiative on the part of the children. 

EQUIPMENT PROBLEM. 

Seats, desks, blackboards, and buildings just about complete the 
list of equipment, and we might well eliminate most of the buildings 
from the list. The buildings are almost impossible of use, except 
the high-school building, and it will need modification to be of its 
greatest use. 

School equipment costs money, and since it is used a great deal 
it will have to be replaced constantly. There is no way in these days 
of providing good but cheap education. The citizenship of Eliza- 
beth City is responsible for the condition of its schools to the extent 



36 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

that they have not provided ample funds for the maintenance of 
well-equipped schools. 

Lack of equipment makes it impossible for teachers to do first-class 
work. Lack of equipment always gives teachers an excuse for doing 
poor work. 

The following essentials in school equipment, without which the 
instruction in the schools will be greatly handicapped, are recom- 
mended : 

1. Provision should be made at once for better buildings— partic- 
ularly for the primary grades and the Negroes. These buildings 
should be correctly built for light, ventilation, and heating. These 
factors affect instruction. 

2. Laboratories for manual training, home economics, and ele- 
mentary science are necessary before these subjects can be even intro- 
duced into the curriculum properly. 

3. There is a need of well-equipped playgrounds, open the year 
round. The children of Elizabeth City should be permitted and 
trained to play. 

4. The buildings should have gymnasiums and playrooms. Health 
is the foundation of all good school work. 

5. The schools need libraries, open all the year. 

6. The classrooms need libraries. 

7. The schools need a great many supplementary reading and 
reference books. 

8. The schools are in need of illustrative material: Maps, pictures, 
charts, globes, manufacturers' exhibits, stereographic and stereo- 
scopic apparatus, moving-picture machines, stereopticons and slides? 
weights and measures, and a school museum. 

9. Space and equipment are needed for school gardens. 

10. The primary grades need paper, cardboard, and all sorts of 
media for handwork and construction. 

ORGANIZATION PROBLEM. 

The present system of elementary schools consists of seven grades, 
promotions being made once a year. We recommend the reorgani- 
zation of the whole system to consist of a kindergarten for children 
of ages approximately 4-6 years; an elementary school for children 
6-12 years; a junior high school, 12-15; and a senior high school, 
15-18. The reasons for this are set forth elsewhere. The following 
recommendations refer to the school organization problem: 

1. There should be a kindergarten, a six-year elementary school, a 
three-year junior high school, a three-year senior high school. 

2. Promotions should be made twice a year at least, and more 
often if possible. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 37 

3. There should be special classes for especially gifted children. 

4. There should be special classes for retarded children, with care 
not to put together those mentally weak and those retarded merely 
because of health. 

5. Children in the several sections of one grade should be classi- 
fied according to ability rather than by physical age or size. This 
principle should be used with some reservations that will become 
apparent in its application. 

6. The course of study should be flexible enough to fit a flexible 
grading system, providing more work for the better pupils and full 
work for each according to his ability. 

7. The daily schedule should provide for laboratory and field 
work. 

8. Departmental teaching should be provided in the intermediate 
grades, if specialists can be secured. 

9. There should be a longer school day, made up of recitation, 
study, manual activities, and play. 

THE SUPERVISION PROBLEM. 

The chief cause for deficiencies in the elementary schools is the 
complete lack of supervision of the instruction and leadership for 
the teaching staff. The schools, both primary and intermediate, are 
virtually without principals. The teachers acting in this capacity 
have full-time teaching duties, while the superintendent of schools, 
who has part of the responsibility in supervision, is entirely too busy 
to give the attention really needed. 

Supervision of instruction means briefly these: The establishment 
of common aims of work among the teachers ; discussion of means to 
attain these' ends; measuring the results of the instruction; and 
remedial measures to correct and improve the teaching. 

No one in the entire system has these things as his duties at the 
present time. Each teacher does what she can. Skilled advice and 
helpful inspiration are wholly wanting. 

In addition to the instructional side of supervision, there is an 
administrative routine demanded of a principal. This routine con- 
sists of schedule making, discipline, parents' meetings, class organiza- 
tion, reports, physical conditions, janitors, and many other such 
matters. These things are taken care of now, as added burdens, by 
two full-time teachers. As a result, their work or the administrative 
duties must suffer. 

The following suggestions refer to supervision: 

1. There should be appointed a supervising principal for the 
primary school and one for the intermediate school. These principals 
should not be required to teach more than 8 or 10 hours a week. 



38 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

2. These principals should be persons who have had special training 
for supervision. 

3. With the introduction of music, art, physical training, and home 
economics, supervisors should be appointed for these subjects, who 
will devote part of their time to assisting and directing the work in 
these special subjects done by the regular teachers. 

THE INSTRUCTION PROBLEM. 

The results obtained in the Elizabeth City schools compare favor- 
ably with the results found elsewhere in spelling, reading, and 
problem solving in arithmetic, while the results in the four processes 
in arithmetic are far below standard. The work in geography, 
language, literature, history, and physiology is of the usual sort, 
and done in about the same study-and-recite fashion common to the 
average American school. The instruction is neither good nor 
wholly bad. It is disconnected with modern educational practice. 
The teachers teach as they were taught and as they have been taught 
to teach. They make an assignment, the children learn it, and recite 
it. The ability and power of the ordinary child are never discovered, 
never utilized. 

Such conditions are traceable to the teacher training methods in 
this country more than to anything else. It is much the same 
elsewhere as it is at Elizabeth City. Better work can be done. 
Does Elizabeth City want it? We believe that Elizabeth City 
would be willing to pay for high-class teaching if it had the oppor- 
tunitv. 

Tne following suggestions refer to the teaching situation: 

1. Teachers should be trained both in subject matter and in the 
methods of instruction. 

2. The teachers should be selected because they are intellectual 
leaders as well as educated persons. 

3. The teachers should be required to be social and civic leaders, 
and should be selected in part for ability along this line. 

4. Employment should be open to married women, if necessary, 
in order to retain good teachers in the system. Good teachers are 
too scarce to permit marriage to render them ineligible. 

5. Teachers should be given a definite course of study, with 
thoroughly understood objectives to be reached in every grade. 

6. The teachers should be given thorough -and inspiring super- 
vision. 

7. The results of instruction should be constantly measured and 
necessary remedial steps taken. 

8. Teachers should be encouraged to get away from mere parrot- 
like learning of a book. Children learn more from direct observation 
and experience than in any other way. 



EDUCATIONAL SUKVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 39 

9. The problem or project method of instruction should be em- 
ployed where applicable in all grades. This will provide opportunity, 
interest, attention, self- activity, and objectiveness in instruction. 

10. Demonstration lessons should be given for the benefit of the 
teachers. 

11. Teachers should be permitted to visit other good teachers. 

12. The amount of home study in the intermediate grades should 
be reduced. 

13. The amount of time devoted to spelling, arithmetic, and gram- 
mar should be reduced, and the time saved given over to history, 
geography, literature, music, civics, nature study, physical training, 
art, etc. 

14. Much time can be saved in instruction if the work is organized 
around big problems, if the child learns by doing, and if useless, 
unimportant material be eliminated. 

15. Supervision should emphasize those types of instruction 
which develop initiative, responsibility, and self-activity on the part 
of the child. 

KINDERGARTENS. 

1. Kindergartens should be established for children from 4 to 
years of age. 

2. The spirit of the kindergarten should be carried on into the ele- 
mentary school through the application of kindergarten principles 
to primary work. 

3. The primary teachers should have expert supervision and in- 
spirational leadership in applying these principles in the teaching of 
the regular school subjects and also in teaching manual arts, singing, 
and games. 

4. Modern schoolroom equipment and playground equipment 
should be provided to carry out this program. 

5. Children should be carefully graded by development and not 
by age. 

6. Health inspection and health instruction should be a part of the 
regular school program. 



VI. THE HIGH SCHOOL. 

1. The high school should make a definite attempt to meet the 
needs of those who drop out after only one, two, or three years of 
study, as well as of those who complete the course. 

2. The work of the high school should be based upon consideration 
of the following main objectives of education: (a) Health; (b) com- 
mand of fundamental processes; (c) worthy home membership; (d) vo- 
cation; (e) citizenship; (f) worthy use of leisure; (g) ethical character. 



40 EDUCATIONAL STJKVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

3. The present plan of seYen elementary-school grades and four 
high-school grades is defective in a number of particulars, among 
which are: 

(a) Inadequate provision for the needs of individual pupils. 
(6) Large amount of retardation of pupils through method of pro- 
motions. 

(c) Large numbers of students dropping out at end of seventh and 
ninth grades. 

(d) Secondary school course is begun at too late period in the 
child's life. 

(e) Unnecessary repetition of the subject matter studied. 

(/)' Wide divergence of interests and needs can be met better by 
segregation of adolescent children from younger primary children. 

(g) Poor adjustment between the elementary school and the high 
school. 

(h) Poor adjustment of school activities to life activities. 

(i) Elementary methods too long continued and too suddenly 
changed. 

(j) Inadequate provision for individual guidance and direction. 

4. Some advantages of the proposed reorganization on the basis of 
six years elementary school, three years junior high school, and three 
years senior high school : 

(a) An expected decrease in numbers of pupils who drop out of 
school in grades 7, 8, and 9. 

(h) More suitable training for the majority of the pupils. 

(c) More adaptation to individual needs. 

(d) More adequate provision for vocational guidance. 

(e) Better plan of promotions. 

(/) Better adjustment between elementary and secondary edu- 
cation. 

(g) Fewer failures and repeaters. 

(h) Conditions more favorable for improvement in the quality of 
instruction. 

(i) Economy of pupils' time. 

(j) Better adjustment between school activities and life activities. 

(Jc) Conditions more favorable for study. 

(Z) Better supervision of social and recreational activities. 

5. The high-school course should definitely recognize the fact that 
the young people are about to enter agriculture, business, trades, 
home making, and other occupations. 

6. A printed circular should be provided for the guidance of chil- 
dren and their parents, with full description of the work of each 
course. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 41 

7. A limited number of curriculums should be offered, with a mini- 
mum of electives, based on the experience of successful junior-senior 
high schools. 

8. Provision should be made for cooperative part- time classes, 
evening classes, and vacation classes. 

9. The quality of the instruction averages up well with that ob- 
served in other high schools. 

10. There should be a definite salary schedule for teachers, with a 
plan of promotions based on merit. 

11. The present high-school building falls very far short of ac- 
cepted standards for a modern high-school building, being especially 
defective in regard to lighting, heating, ventilation, fire protection, 
general equipment, and provision for special classes. 



VII. HOME ECONOMICS. 

Home economics instruction should include something more than 
just the technic acquired in the preparation of a few foods and the 
making of a few sewing models. It should awaken in the child 
appreciation of the value and possibilities of a real home. 

The instruction should be adapted to the girl's age, interests, 
mental development, and the racial, religious, social, and economic 
conditions of her home. 

The school must recognize that the physical health and economic 
stability of the Nation are vitally affected by the wisdom or ignor- 
ance of the mass of women as to the laws of health and the use of 
material goods. 

For white pupils two types of course should be provided, general 
and intensive. The general course should be required of all girls 
in grades 5 to 9, inclusive, who are of normal age for their grades. 
The intensive courses should be open to all girls 14 years of age or over. 

Instruction should deal with problems related as closely as possible 
to home conditions and should be correlated with other school 
subjects. 

For the present, emphasis in home economics should be given to 
work in grades 5 to 9; elective courses for the higher grades may 
be developed later. 

For all colored girls, home economics should occupy an important 
place in education from about 11 years of age until completion of 
school; the work should be of the most practical type, with strong 
emphasis on sanitary practices, good workmanship, and hygienic 
personal habits. 

At least one-fourth of each school day should be devoted to this 
work. 



42 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 

There should be four teachers of home economics in the white 
schools and three in the colored schools. 

In the white schools there will be needed two rooms equipped for 
food work, two for clothing work, a small dining room, with suitable 
storeroom and closets. 

In the colored schools there should be provided three rooms for 
food and clothing work, and one for meal service and practical house- 
keeping. 



VIII. MANUAL TRAINING. 

A well-organized scheme of manual training throughout the schools, 
white and colored, should be developed, both for its general educa- 
tional value and as an essential foundation for subsequent voca- 
tional work. 

Manual training is here used in the accepted sense of an educa- 
tional agency involving not only a method of instruction and a 
content of valuable subject matter, but a means also of self -directed, 
purposeful activity. 

The object in view should be to incorporate the best features 
applicable to local conditions that have been developed by progressive 
communities, with lines of work of such variety and scope as may be 
practicable. 

Handwork should be developed first in the lower grades, and 
throughout the elementary school should be< employed in its various 
phases for the accomplishment of at least three distinct educational 
ends: (1) To develop manipulative skill and the ability to u do" 
things; (2) to impart knowledge of materials and processes of con- 
struction; and (3) to vitalize the instruction in the various subjects 
of study, such as geography, history, language, and science. 

In the earlier grades the best results are secured when the hand- 
work is taught by the regular grade teachers. It is much easier 
for these teachers to relate the work to the other studies and activities 
of the children. N With the progress of the children through the 
grades, however, the work becomes more and more complicated 
and the tools and processes more difficult of manipulation. In time 
the point is reached beyond which it is impracticable to expect the 
grade teacher to acquire the necessary technical skill and knowledge 
to carry on this work in addition to all the other requirements of 
her position. 

From this point, probably the fifth grade, the situation may be 
met by employing special teachers or by a plan of departmentalized 
teaching. 



EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. 43 

During the earlier grades the handwork should be substantially 
the same for boys and girls. With v the beginning of departmental 
teaching a gradual differentiation in the work should be introduced. 

In general, the interests of the girls will tend in the direction of 
sewing, cooking, and homemaking, and the interests of the boys 
toward shopwork and drafting. Both boys and girls will manifest 
interest in commercial subjects when properly presented. 

For obvious reasons the teachers of drafting and shopwork, as 
well as of agriculture, for boys in the upper grades should be men. 

In the lower grades not less than 30 to 60 minutes per week should 
be allowed for handwork, but a more liberal time allowance should 
be made as soon as suitable equipment can be provided and teachers 
are prepared to do the work. Ultimately from two to three hours 
per week should be provided. 

Supplies of materials in sufficient quantity and variety to make 
the work profitable and educational should be provided by the board. 

In the upper grades. — Even more time must be allowed for manual 
training in the upper grades if the expected results are to be secured 
and if boys and girls who now drop out of school in such large numbers 
are to be retained. 

With the right kind of equipment, properly qualified men teachers, 
and appropriately modified courses of study, from 5 to 7 hours weekly 
may be devoted to manual training in grades above the sixth, and 
in special prevocational classes at least one-half the school time 
should be devoted to practical activities in shop, laboratory, and 
drafting room. 

With the beginning of departmental teaching the lines of work 
should include thin wood, bookbinding, clay, cement, and plaster, 
and such other groups as further study of conditions may indicate. 

Beginning with the seventh year, the boys should cany still further 
the problems in bookbinding and woodwork, and to these should be 
added suitable work in copper, brass, iron, leather, cement and con- 
crete, electricity, mechanical drawing. The woodwork may well 
include some simple framing and carpentry. 

All the shopwork and drafting should be made as practical as 
possible. 

Practical work in gardening, agriculture, and commercial subjects 
should be developed parallel with the manual training. 

o 



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